A two-year-old girl died in Florida after her parents “decided to leave her in the car,” according to authorities. Kathreen Adams and Christopher McLean have been charged with negligence and possession of methamphetamine after they allowed their daughter to sleep in the vehicle in the heat all night, about 10 minutes total, according to the Holmes County Sheriff 14 hours.
What happened
A two-year-old Florida girl who fell asleep in her car seat has died after her parents intentionally left her in the hot vehicle for 14 hours, authorities said. The girl’s parents, Kathreen Adams, 23, and Christopher McLean, 32, were arrested and charged with child neglect, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Holmes County Sheriff John Tate said at a news conference on Wednesday. Officials arrived at a home in the Prosperity Panhandle community in Florida at 3:43 p.m. Tuesday after a “hysterical woman” called 911, according to the sheriff, who noted emergency responders could not get any information from the woman because she screamed. The responding officer found a lifeless two-year-old girl in the house.
The officer immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until paramedics arrived, but the girl was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The mother initially stated that she had found her daughter at home without reacting. The sheriff said the girl’s temperature was around 100 degrees, “so we knew something was wrong.” During the investigation, authorities learned the little girl had been in the car for about 14 hours. The mother told officers she left work around midnight and went with her husband to a relative’s house to pick up her two-year-old daughter and four-year-old brother before returning home.
The “distraction” of the parents
“The baby slept in the car seat. They decided to leave her in the car, got in, eventually fell asleep and didn’t wake up until around 3:41 a.m., neither realizing the baby was in the car. AfternoonThe sheriff explained, adding that Adams “deliberately left the baby in the car overnight.”
McLean did not cooperate and pleaded for his rights, “and did not want to testify or speak to us at this time,” the sheriff said of the child’s father. According to the sheriff, there is some disagreement as to when the couple actually found the little girl and when 911 was called. Adams also said the 4-year-old got out of the vehicle and entered the home.
“We have no evidence as to whether it was in the car or in the house. That’s something we’re still trying to find out,” the sheriff said of the four-year-old. Authorities found methamphetamine, marijuana, CBD chewing gum and drug paraphernalia at the couple’s home, the sheriff told reporters. Adams told authorities that she and McLean smoked marijuana after breaking into the home.
When asked if he had a message for the community, the sheriff replied, “Don’t do drugs.” I strongly believe that methamphetamine and drugs are responsible for this death. “That’s what happens when you do drugs, you lose your sense of what’s actually going on and that’s what happens.” “If they weren’t doing drugs, we probably wouldn’t be here today,” he said. The 4-year-old boy was taken into the care of the Children and Families Unit.
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